Walk With You
by Midnight Sky Tie
Summary: She said she’d always be there for him, by his side, and she meant it. RemusTonks, DH spoilers, Final Battle.


She said she'd always be there for him, by his side, and she meant it.

The panic that engulfed her as she ran through the castle, dodging curses and jinxes with determination she'd never before known, made her numb to the devastation around her. The blood and the bodies and the chaos – it only mattered that the blood wasn't his, that those blank eyes didn't belong to her husband. That was all she cared about, because if he were gone…she couldn't imagine living in a world without him.

Looking out the window, she couldn't see him. Her wand moved as if on its own accord, aimed at the Death Eaters below them on the grounds, fighting those protecting Hogwarts. She constantly searched the crowd below for the man who was so familiar to her that she felt as if they were two halves to the same whole, but it was in vain.

Then she heard Aberforth speak.

"Good girl!" he roared as he passed, presumably at Ginny, who had just cast a jinx down into the crowd. "They look like they might be breaching the north battlements, they've brought giants of their own!"

She felt her insides go cold. Giants?

"Have you seen Remus?" she called, desperation painfully evident in her voice.

"He was dueling Dolohov," Aberforth shouted, and she felt as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her. "Haven't seen him since!"

Without thinking, without imagining the danger she was about to dive into, she sped off, deaf to Ginny's protests.

She fought her way through the Death Eaters with such single-mindedness that, after blasting three of them out of her way, they let her pass. She wasn't interested in killing them; later, when she was certain Remus was alive and well, she would fight with such fury that no one could hold her back. But not yet.

When she reached the grounds, she quickly realised it would be difficult, if not impossible to find Remus. She refused to look at the bodies that littered the ground; instead, she held out hope that he was still alive, that he was there fighting somewhere. Surely if he were gone, she'd have felt it. And that part of her was still whole. She hadn't yet shattered.

She screamed his name as she ran through the battle, letting her instincts and her wand do the work for her. Years of Auror training under the watchful eye of Moody meant her reactions were impeccable, and she managed to break through the fighting without meeting much resistance. With her long hair streaming behind her, she continued to search the faces of the living, looking for him, despair growing stronger inside of her with each breath she took. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

But then she saw him, standing upright and proud as he fought two Death Eaters at once. Too overcome with relief to be fearful that one of those he was fighting was her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, she fiercely fought her way over to him, deflecting the jet of green light that Bellatrix sent her way with a powerful shielding spell.

She caught his expression when he finally saw her. He'd left her and their son believing she'd stay put – but how could she possibly have stayed, knowing he was in danger? She was an Auror, trained for battle. She loved their son more than life itself, but she also loved Remus just as much. That, above all else, was what he had always failed to realise.

She promised she'd be there for him, and she would be. She was now.

Slipping her right hand into his left, so both of their wand hands were available, she cast another shielding spell, momentarily knocking Dolohov and her aunt away. In those precious few seconds, she turned to look at him, more alert of the heavy, warm feeling of his hand in hers than she'd ever been.

"You came." He wasn't angry. He looked – surprised, she thought. Touched, perhaps. And certainly scared.

She squeezed his hand. "Always."

The expression on his face and the look in his eyes was something she'd only seen twice before: on their wedding night, the first time they'd made love, the night they'd conceived their son, when she'd felt as if her heart would burst as they moved together as one for the first time; and the day their son was born, the way he'd looked at her as she held Teddy's tiny body in her arms. He hadn't needed to talk then; the infinite love in his eyes had said all he'd ever need to say.

And that moment was no different.

But it was only a moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bellatrix stand and send another Unforgivable directly at her. This time it was Remus' spell that shielded her.

And so they fought, side-by-side, never letting go of the other's hand. Tonks could feel the heat in his palm, and she felt him grip her hand even tighter. The battle raged around them, with screams of pain and despair echoing throughout the grounds. This was war, but they were together, and that was all that mattered. That was all that had ever mattered.

She wasn't sure when it happened; perhaps they were attacked from behind, or perhaps there were simply too many spells flying through the air, too many to protect them against. But she felt her breath leave her body even as his hand tightened around hers again. She could see him beside her, could see the green cast around him as well. And in that last moment of their lives, she felt not fear or despair; she felt only the warmth of his hand and gentle, regretful longing for a son they would only know in death.

It was peaceful, where she was. A forest, she thought, with the cool grass underneath her bare feet and the warm sun shining down on her skin. She dared not open her eyes though, not until she was certain he was there.

She didn't know how long she stood there. Time seemed to have no meaning anymore, but she was so very much aware of the peace that had surrounded her. She knew that he would be there soon. She could feel him in every part of her, and she knew without doubt that he was part of her—the most important part there was. Now it was all she had left; and now it was all she needed.

"'Dora?"

She finally opened her eyes.

"Daddy?"

She felt him touch her cheek, but it wasn't skin against skin; it was something deeper, something without a name. She felt as if her very essence had fused with his for that brief moment that may have lasted eternity.

He looked younger, like he did in the pictures of her parents' wedding.

"I'm so proud of you, 'Dora," he whispered, his eyes shining.

"I have a son." She smiled, and so did her father. "We called him Teddy."

She saw joy in his eyes, and his soul seemed to ripple with something so strong it was indescribable.

As she thought of her child, the pain wasn't there, as she'd expected it to be. Instead there was satisfaction and an unshakable love that filled her as she pictured his face. He would be safe now; somehow she knew that. Her mother would care for him and love him as Tonks would have done. And he would live a full life, without the threat of death and persecution hanging over him as it had for his parents.

And then she felt him, as if he'd set a hand on her lower back, the way he had when they were alone. She turned, and he was there.

"I had to say goodbye to Harry," he said softly. He looked younger – so much younger, she thought, like the day he had when their son was born. And he looked peaceful. "He's sorry we had to leave Teddy so soon."

Tonks nodded, understanding. She was sorry, too. "He'll be okay." And she knew with every fiber of her being that that was true.

"Sirius is waiting for us," he said. "James and Lily are excited to meet you."

She smiled. "I'm excited to meet them."

She felt a touch on her shoulder, and again she turned around, this time to see her father's smiling face once more.

"Aren't you coming?" she said. He shook his head.

"I'll be along," he promised. "I'm waiting for your mother."

Tonks nodded and embraced him. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, 'Dora," he whispered, and then they let go.

She shed no tears. She would see him again, as soon as her mother joined them. And then, hopefully a very long time afterwards, it would be her son she would embrace.

Feeling a familiar hand slip into hers, she looked at Remus once more and saw herself reflected in his eyes.

"Ready?"

Wordlessly she nodded.

Together they started down the path that led deeper into the forest, their hands linked through life and through death. She didn't know where they were, but it hardly mattered; this was his heaven, because hers was wherever he was.

"Remus," she breathed, and the sound of his name seemed to echo through the trees and through the sky, carried by the eternal breeze.

He smiled, his eyes full of that indescribable love. Leaning toward her, he pressed his lips to her forehead. "It's all right," he whispered, his hand warm in hers. "We have forever."

And they did.

She said she'd always be there for him, by his side, and she meant it.


End file.
